In many localities, no safe and reliable water supply is available. A water distribution system may be lacking or, frequently, such a system may exist but deliver water that is not or may not be safe and fit for drinking because it is contaminated, particularly by microorganisms. The problem of providing safe, potable water in such localities, without the addition of chemicals, which impart a bad taste to the water and are not without danger, has received wide attention and has found a variety of solutions in the art. It is known to connect to a water conduit or to a water faucet a purifying apparatus provided with filtering means. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,456 discloses a water purification process for removing dissolved solids of a type that are normally present in a municipal water supply or the like, which process uses a forced draft decarbonator, a water degasifier, a product outlet, a water level sensor, and a reverse osmosis unit.
These apparatus, however, are cumbersome and expensive and are not suitable for independent, family use. Further, they cannot be used when an adequate, centralized water supply system does not exist. Finally, they do not provide a supply of fresh, potable water at any distance from the water faucets, either within the house and in camping. None of them, further, provides sterile water.
Another problem which exists in such apparatus is the inner contamination danger created by the fact that, with the passage of time, the apparatus filters become heavily contaminated with microorganisms which multiply, and thus constitute a health hazard instead of a defense against such a hazard. Contamination may derive from a very small number of microorganisms, even from a single one, since their capacity for multiplication is extremely high.
JP 05185070 (Kokai No. 5-185070) notes that in domestic water purifiers the filter module must be replaced when the water that has flown through it has exceeded the allowable absorption capacity of the absorbent inside the module, and that water purifiers are known which are provided with a life meter capable of displaying the time of replacing the filter module. However, the known devices are said to be unreliable because they measure only the time of the water flow and this does not provide a reliable indication due to fluctuations in the water flow rate. Therefore said application proposes a domestic water purifier which comprises a constant flow rate valve, a sensor for detecting start and stop of water flow and generating corresponding signals, and means for measuring an integrated operating time based on said signals and displaying a signal when said integrated time reaches a preset value. The constant flow rate valve has the only purpose of permitting to measure said integrated time accurately, and until said preset value has been reached, the filter is not changed regardless of the volume of water that has flown through it, to which no independent significance is attributed. The application shows various structures of constant flow rate valves, but as to the filter module it shows no structure and states that the invention may utilize various structures of the prior art, nor does it describe a complete apparatus free of the drawbacks of the prior art.
It is the purpose of this invention to provide an apparatus for rendering water potable and dispensing potable water, that is free of the limitations and drawbacks of prior art apparatus.
It is another purpose of this invention to provide such an apparatus that is adapted to provide sterile water.
It is a further purpose of this invention to provide such an apparatus that is self-contained, compact, and economical.
It is a still further purpose of this invention to provide such an apparatus that may be portable or not portable, as desired, and, if portable, is easy to carry and displace from one point to another, so that it can be used, for instance, in the home in any room and or outside the home, such as in camping.
It is a still further purpose of this invention to provide such an apparatus which is free from the danger of inner contamination, in particular, the danger of the accumulation and multiplication of microorganisms in the apparatus filter.
It is a still further purpose of this invention to provide such an apparatus that is simple, easy to use, and safe.
It is a still further purpose of this invention to provide such an apparatus in which the ratio of the weight and volume of the apparatus to those of the amount of water that can be dispensed by it are reduced to a minimum.
It is a still further purpose of this invention to provide such an apparatus having a filter that is compact and inexpensive and delivers a large volume of purified water per unit filter volume.
Other purposes and advantages of this invention will appear as the description proceeds.